Hi all,Haven't posted in this group before. Recently, I've been dealing with a lupus/UCTD diagnosis. However, I wanted to get your take on night terrors. Anybody here dealing with them?

I have a history of PTSD. I've been on anti-depressants, I've been to therapy, I've had Manic Depression. For now...in the mental health department, I feel the healthiest I have been in years. Off all meds, haven't needed therapy. I just have one lingering issue that I cannot shake.

Night terrors. If I take Ambien, or if I drink too much alcohol, I do not have night terrors. However, if I sleep sober, which is always the goal, without fail I have a night terror within an hour of falling asleep. The Ambien OR alcohol gets me into a deep sleep very quickly. I understand that night terrors happen as your body is entering the deep sleep stage, so by bypassing this early part of sleep, I'm able to avoid night terrors.

Tips, tricks, experiences to let me get a sober's night sleep without the night terrors?

Ironically, which is why I don't think therapy is the answer, my night terrors are related to death and dying, and my PTSD was related to sexual assault.... So, the night terrors aren't even dredging up old wounds.

I have, in the past, taken prazosin, and that drug worked marvelously. However... again... I'm trying to find a non-medicinal/drug way to get healthy sleep. While I'm trying out new medicine for the lupus/UCTD, I didn't want to introduce any other chemicals to my bodies.

Much thanks! Here's to a healthy day ahead!January, 2017 - Doctor is toying between a UCTD and Lupus diagnosis

Plaquenil, 200mg since January 6, 2017

Gluten-free since January 5, 2017 - I don't have celiac, but doctor advised it might help with the lupus/UCTD

I wish I had some answers for you. I use meditation to sleep. I use to take ambien too but stopped.

The breathing during the meditation would probably help some. It helps relieve anxiety. But I don't know how you would skip any stages of sleep. Though with meditation (if I can concentrate) I do fall to sleep rather quickly.

I do have to say something about ambien and alcohol. Not a good match. Alcohol keeps us depressed because it is a depressant. So be careful.

I think therapy could still help you even though the night terrors and the ptsd don't seem to be related. There often underlies more meaning than what we can observe. But that is for you to decide. Maybe a sleep specialist???

I hope you can remedy this soon. Not getting good sleep can effect us in many ways.

You describe them just right, just as I would drift off to sleep, I assumed it was when my defenses were down, wham! A panic attack would often occur.

These attacks went on for a year or two, maybe longer.

I was originally diagnosed as depressed, because when I saw the psy. I was depressed. I wasn't asked about any up type episodes, which might have been a help.

Anyway, I went miss-diagnosed for some years, probably 8 or 10, during which the panic attacks would have started at some point, and there wasn't any help with stopping them.

Well, one day, they diagnosed me as manic-depressed, and gave me Lithium, in addition to the anti-dep. I was taking. From the first Lithium, I never had another panic attack. The Lithium stopped them cold.

I might mention that to my psych. and see what they say about that. There might be other meds which are used for panic attacks.

You might look on the net panic attacks, or medicines which treat panic attacks, and see what they say. You might take the names of those meds to your doctor.

Doctors only have 5 to 50 minutes a session. You've got all of the time in the world to research things on the net.

I use Melatonin for sleep from the health food store. I use only one mg. a night, but you can take 2 or 3 mg., for they sell a 3 mg. pill.

I use to use Power to Sleep from heath food store, or net, but my psy. didn't like it (not enough testing), and one day my kidneys started to hurt, especially when I coughed, so I thought it could be the Power to Sleep, I quit taking it, and since then my kidneys have not hurt.

So you kinda want to watch out for stuff.

Speaking of panic attacks, you can go to the "anxiety/panic attacks" forum on this same web site, and get more data on there about that.

There's also on that forum two or three or more threads on "I can't sleep" and you could read those about suggestions for sleeping with health food supplements.

As you said at the end of your post, "Much thanks! Here's to a healthy day ahead!"

That suggests a positive attitude. I recently started thinking positive, due to a column I read on that topic, and it rally helped me in that I didn't give up with the first setback, like I use to.

Since then, I try to think, "One problem at a time, and be positive about that problem."

I used to be geared for defeat, but the column said, believe you can solve a problem going into it, it will improve your chances of solving the problem. It did for me.

A saying I heard is, "The person you have to defeat is yourself." That was true with me also.

Thanks all, for the tips. Just to clarify a couple things... I definitely don't mix the ambien and the alcohol, I know that's bad news. It's an either or. Last night I tried Zquil, trying something that's not as strong as the ambien or alcohol, and same "sober" result, night terrror within 45 minutes.

As for the melatonin, a seemingly healthier, more natural medicine... it's looking like those of us with lupus can't take that. Something about what it releases in our bodies would likely trigger a lupus flare. We have to be careful about what herbal remedies we try.

So... it's a journey. I think I'll start (well continue) with my PCP and see if she has any insight. Maybe the sleep specialist is the way to go...January, 2017 - Doctor is toying between a UCTD and Lupus diagnosis

Plaquenil, 200mg since January 6, 2017

Gluten-free since January 5, 2017 - I don't have celiac, but doctor advised it might help with the lupus/UCTD

My fiancé has PTSD and he gets terrible night terrors, he’s fine during the day, but “Good Grief” at night he’s dangerous! He fights in his sleep! He punches the headboard. I’ve been elbowed and kneed in the ribs and back several times. He cusses in his sleep and throws punches in the air. He keeps telling me he wants to sleep in different rooms but I refuse!

We both try to do as much as we can with natural remedies so sleeping pills and anxiety pills are out. He has tried drinking Kava Kava at night, which is great for getting him asleep, but didn’t help with the terrors. We’ve tried exhausting him with exercise, going for long walks in the woods, we eat nutritiously, drink teas, smoothies, juices & take supplements, which has been great for our overall health, but still the terrors persisted. There are several other methods we have tried that sometimes help and sometimes don’t.

Recently I was telling my best friend about what we’ve been going through and she suggested giving him a back rub at night with an essential oil / aromatherapy massage oil. I figured “What the Heck. Why not?” and nightly backrubs he was totally game.

I went to the local health-food store and they suggested an essential oil blend that helped with PTSD & stress. We gave it a try and it has been making a HUGE difference! He has gone several nights without night terrors and as long as I massage him with the oil if he does have a terror it’s more of just a nightmare that I can calm him down from. His PTSD is very embedded from issues since he was a young child so we weren’t expecting a “one use” miracle cure but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you if I forget to massage him with the oil it’s gonna be a rough night. The company that makes the oil also has mists and internal drops that we are gonna give a try to see if using them too will help even more.